Electronic device and control method therefor

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is an electronic apparatus, the electronic apparatus including: a communication circuitry; a power supply; a first processor configured to have a first mode which receives first power from the power supply and connects with a server through the communication circuitry to transmit and receive information, and a second mode which receives no power or second power lower than the first power from the power supply; and a second processor configured to repetitively output a mode switching signal within a preset range of time interval based on the second mode of the first processor, wherein the first processor is switched over to the first mode based on the mode switching signal, is configured to transmit connectivity keeping information to the server through the communication circuitry and is switched over to the second mode.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to an electronic apparatus and a method ofcontrolling the same, and more particularly an electronic apparatus, inwhich network connectivity is kept with low power, and a method ofcontrolling the same.

BACKGROUND ART

Concept of Internet of Things (IoT) requires that things, i.e. devicesare always connected to a network. With development of IoT technology,scope of connectable devices has become wider and providable serviceshave advanced, thereby requiring the devices to be connected to theInternet as well as a private network.

However, the devices connected to the Internet cannot keep theconnectivity because connectivity information is deleted when apredetermined period of time elapses in a disconnected state. Forexample, in a case where an indoor television (TV) and an externalserver are connected through an indoor private network and the Internet,connectivity information inside the private network is updated⋅deletedwhen a predetermined period of time elapses, and a server outside theprivate network cannot continue connecting with the TV inside theprivate network.

Nevertheless, it is inefficient in terms of power consumption that thedevices are kept turned on and continuously perform a connectivitykeeping process in order to keep the connectivity with the Internet.

Technical Problem

Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to provide an electronicapparatus which cab not only keep connectivity with the Internet butalso reduce power consumption.

Technical Solution

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided anelectronic apparatus including: a communication circuitry; a powersupply; a first processor configured to have a first mode which receivesfirst power from the power supply and connects with a server through thecommunication circuitry to transmit and receive information, and asecond mode which receives no power or second power lower than the firstpower from the power supply; and a second processor configured torepetitively output a mode switching signal within a preset range oftime interval based on the second mode of the first processor, whereinthe first processor is switched over to the first mode based on the modeswitching signal, is configured to transmit connectivity keepinginformation to the server through the communication circuitry and isswitched over to the second mode.

Thus, the electronic apparatus can not only keep the communicationconnectivity with the server but also reduce power consumption.

The connectivity keeping information may include connectivity-keepingdesired time.

The connectivity keeping information may include information that allowsa router provided between the communication circuitry and the server tokeep address information about the electronic apparatus.

Thus, it is possible to prevent disconnection between the server and theelectronic apparatus as the address information is deleted from therouter.

The second processor may output the mode switching signal based on atimer event.

Thus, the electronic apparatus can achieve a configuration forrepetitively keeping the network connectivity within a range of apredetermined time interval by a simple method.

The electronic apparatus may further include a power controller, whereinthe power controller controls the power supply to supply the first powerto the first processor based on the mode switching signal received fromthe second processor.

The second processor may output the mode switching signal correspondingto a communication signal received through the communication circuitrybased on the second mode of the first processor, and the first processormay be switched over to the first mode based on the mode switchingsignal and perform a process corresponding to the communication signal.

Thus, the electronic apparatus can not only keep connectivity with theserver with lower power, but also detect and process a request from theserver.

The first processor may control a power mode of the electronic apparatusbased on content of the communication signal in the first mode.

Thus, the electronic apparatus can not only detect and process therequest from the server even in the standby mode, but also control powerto be stepwise supplied based on the content of the request, therebyfurther enhancing power saving effects.

The first processor may control the electronic apparatus to operate in anormal mode based on a communication signal of a preset form receivedfrom another electronic apparatus within a local network.

The electronic apparatus may further include a user input receivingcircuit, wherein the second processor further outputs the mode switchingsignal corresponding to a user input received through the user inputreceiving circuit, based on the second mode of the first processor, andthe first processor is switched over to the first mode based on the modeswitching signal and perform a process corresponding to the user input.

Thus, the electronic apparatus can detect and process a user input evenin the standby mode.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a methodof controlling an electronic apparatus including a first processorhaving a first mode which receives first power and transmits andreceives information to and from a server through a communicationcircuitry, and a second mode which receives no power or second powerlower than the first power, the method including: outputting a modeswitching signal repetitively within a preset range of time intervalbased on the second mode of the first processor; and controlling thefirst processor to be switched over to the first mode based on the modeswitching signal, to transmit connectivity keeping information to theserver through the communication circuitry, and to be switched over tothe second mode.

Thus, the electronic apparatus can not only keep the communicationconnectivity with the server but also reduce power consumption.

The connectivity keeping information may include connectivity-keepingdesired time.

The connectivity keeping information may include information that allowsa router provided between the communication circuitry and the server tokeep address information about the electronic apparatus.

Thus, it is possible to prevent disconnection between the server and theelectronic apparatus as the address information is deleted from therouter.

The outputting may include outputting the mode switching signal based ona timer event.

Thus, the electronic apparatus can achieve a configuration forrepetitively keeping the network connectivity within a range of apredetermined time interval by a simple method.

The electronic apparatus may further include a power controller, and themethod may further include controlling the power controller to supplythe first power to the first processor based on the output modeswitching signal.

The method may further include: outputting the mode switching signalcorresponding to a communication signal received through thecommunication circuitry based on the second mode of the first processor,and controlling the first processor to be switched over to the firstmode based on the mode switching signal and perform a processcorresponding to the communication signal.

Thus, the electronic apparatus can not only keep connectivity with theserver with lower power, but also detect and process a request from theserver.

The controlling may include controlling the first processor to control apower mode of the electronic apparatus based on content of thecommunication signal in the first mode.

Thus, the electronic apparatus can not only detect and process therequest from the server even in the standby mode, but also control powerto be stepwise supplied based on the content of the request, therebyfurther enhancing power saving effects.

The controlling may include controlling the first processor to controlthe electronic apparatus to operate in a normal mode based on acommunication signal of a preset form received from another electronicapparatus within a local network.

The electronic apparatus may further include a user input receivingcircuit, wherein the method further include outputting the modeswitching signal corresponding to a user input received through the userinput receiving circuit, based on the second mode of the firstprocessor, and controlling the first processor to be switched over tothe first mode based on the mode switching signal and perform a processcorresponding to the user input.

Thus, the electronic apparatus can detect and process a user input evenin the standby mode.

A computer program according to an embodiment of the present disclosureincludes a computer program combined to the electronic apparatus andstored in a medium to achieve the method.

The computer program may be stored in a medium in a server anddownloaded in the electronic apparatus through a network.

Advantageous Effects

As described above, according to the disclosure, it is possible to notonly keep connectivity with the Internet but also reduce powerconsumption.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system with an electronic apparatus according to anembodiment of the present disclosure,

FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration of an electronic apparatus accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure,

FIG. 3 illustrates a control method of an electronic apparatus accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure,

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of connectivity keeping informationaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure,

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of connectivity keeping informationaccording to another embodiment of the disclosure,

FIG. 6 illustrates a second mode of a first processor according to anembodiment of the disclosure,

FIG. 7 illustrates an example that a first processor according to anembodiment of the disclosure transmits connectivity keeping informationto a server,

FIG. 8 illustrates another example that a first processor according toan embodiment of the disclosure transmits connectivity keepinginformation to a server,

FIG. 9 illustrates an example that a first processor according to anembodiment of the disclosure is switched over to a first mode,

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a detailed configuration of a secondprocessor according to an embodiment of the disclosure,

FIG. 11 illustrates a detailed configuration of an electronic apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure,

FIG. 12 illustrates an example that a first processor according to anembodiment of the disclosure is switched over to a power saving mode,

FIG. 13 illustrates a detailed control method of an electronic apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure,

FIG. 14 illustrates a detailed configuration of an electronic apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure,

FIG. 15 illustrates a detailed configuration of an electronic apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure,

FIG. 16 illustrates a detailed configuration of an electronic apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure, and

FIG. 17 illustrates power modes of an electronic apparatus according toan embodiment of the disclosure.

BEST MODE

Below, embodiments will be described in detail with reference toaccompanying drawings. In the drawings, like numerals or symbols referto like elements having substantially the same function, and the size ofeach element may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience ofdescription. However, the configurations and functions illustrated inthe following embodiments are not construed as limiting the presentinventive concept and the key configurations and functions. In thefollowing descriptions, details about publicly known functions orfeatures will be omitted if it is determined that they cloud the gist ofthe present inventive concept.

In the following embodiments, terms ‘first’, ‘second’, etc. are onlyused to distinguish one element from another, and singular forms areintended to include plural forms unless otherwise mentionedcontextually. In the following embodiments, it will be understood thatterms ‘comprise’, ‘include’, ‘have’, etc. do not preclude the presenceor addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations,elements, components or combination thereof. In addition, a ‘module’ ora ‘portion’ may perform at least one function or operation, be achievedby hardware, software or combination of hardware and software, and beembodied by at least one processor as integrated into at least onemodule. In the disclosure, at least one among a plurality of elementsrefers to not only all the plurality of elements but also both each oneof the plurality of elements excluding the other elements and acombination thereof. Further, the expression of “configured to (or setto)” may not necessarily refer to only “specifically designed to” interms of hardware. Instead, the “device configured to” may refer to“capable of” along with other devices or parts in a certaincircumstance. For example, the phrase of “the sub processor configuredto perform A, B, and C” may refer to a dedicated processor (e.g. anembedded processor) for performing the corresponding operations, or ageneric-purpose processor (e.g. a central processing unit (CPU) or anapplication processor) for performing the corresponding operations byexecuting one or more software programs stored in a memory device.

FIG. 1 illustrates an electronic apparatus 100 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. According to an embodiment of thedisclosure, the electronic apparatus 100 may for example be embodied bysmart home appliances, security devices, lighting fixtures, energyappliances, and so on. The smart home appliances may include atelevision (TV), an air conditioner, a refrigerator, a washing machine,a robot cleaner, a humidifier, a network audio system, artificialintelligence (AI) home appliances, etc.; the security devices mayinclude a door lock system, a security camera, a closed circuit TV(CCTV), sensors for detecting a touch, a sound, a motion and the like,etc.; the lighting fixtures may include a light emitting diode (LED), alamp, etc.; and the energy appliances may include a heater, a powermeter, a power outlet, a power strip, etc. Further, the electronicapparatus 100 may be embodied by a wearable device, a computer, anInternet protocol (IP) camera, an Internet phone, a wired/wirelesstelephone, an electrically controllable curtain, venetian blind, etc.However, according to an embodiment of the disclosure, the electronicapparatus 100 is not limited to this, and may include any devicesconnectable to Internet of Things (IoT).

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the electronic apparatus100 is connected to a network and communicates with a server 200. Theelectronic apparatus 100 may perform communication with the server 200through a router 110 (hereinafter, also referred to as a ‘gateway’).Hereinafter, it will be assumed for convenience of description that theelectronic apparatus 100 and the server 200 performs communicationthrough the Internet. However, the network through which the electronicapparatus 100 and the server 200 can communicate with each other is notlimited to this.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure. the electronic apparatus100 may be controlled by a smartphone, a tablet computer, or the likeuser terminal 120. Meanwhile, the user terminal 120 may correspond tothe electronic apparatus 100 of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the electronicapparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Theelectronic apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the disclosureincludes a communication circuitry 101, a power supply 102, a firstprocessor 103, and a second processor 104. However, this configurationof the electronic apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 2 is merely an example,and the electronic apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of thedisclosure may include another configuration. In other words, theelectronic apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the disclosuremay include other elements in addition to the elements shown in FIG. 2,or exclude some elements from the elements shown in FIG. 2. Each elementaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure may be embodied by at leastone hardware and/or software, and may be embodied by a circuit or achip.

The communication circuitry 101 may perform communication with anexternal device. For example, the communication circuitry 101 maycommunicate with the server 200 or other electronic apparatuses 100 and120. The communication circuitry 101 may perform wired or wirelesscommunication. Therefore, the communication circuitry 101 may beembodied by various communication methods as well as a connectivity unitincluding a connector or terminal for wired connectivity. For example,the communication circuitry 101 may be configured to perform one or morecommunications among Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, Bluetooth lowenergy (BLE), serial port profile (SPP), Zigbee, infrared (IR)communication, radio control, ultra-wide band (UWB), wireless universalserial bus (USB), and near field communication (NFC).

The power supply 102 may be configured to supply power to other elementsof the electronic apparatus 100, for example, the communicationcircuitry 101, the first processor 103, and the second processor 104.The power supply 102 may supply power to or may not supply power toother elements. The power supply 102 may supply power of differentiallevels to the elements.

The first processor 103 performs processes related to major functionsprovided by the electronic apparatus 100 according to the kinds ofelectronic apparatuses 100. For example, when the electronic apparatus100 is a TV, the first processor 103 may process a video signal and anaudio signal.

The first processor 103 may perform control for operating generalelements of the electronic apparatus 100. For example, the electronicapparatus 100 may control the communication circuitry 101 to communicatewith the server 200. The first processor 103 may include a controlprogram (or instruction) for performing such control operations, anonvolatile memory in which the control program is installed, a volatilememory in which at least a part of the installed control program isloaded, and at least one processor or central processing unit (CPU) forexecuting the loaded control program. Further, the control program maybe stored in an electronic apparatus other than the electronic apparatus100.

The control program may be achieved in the form of at least one of abasic input/output system (BIOS), a device driver, an operating system,firmware, a platform, and an application program (or an application).According to one embodiment, the application program may be previouslyinstalled or stored in the electronic apparatus 100 when the electronicapparatus 100 is manufactured, or may be installed in the electronicapparatus 100 on the basis of application program data received from theoutside when used in the future. The application data may for example bedownloaded from an application market and the like external server tothe electronic apparatus 100, but not limited thereto. Meanwhile, thefirst processor 103 may be embodied in the form of a device, an S/Wmodule, a circuit, a chip, etc. or combination thereof.

In the electronic apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 2, both the process andcontrol are performed in the single first processor 103. However, thisis merely an example, and the electronic apparatus 100 according to analternative embodiment may include a separate controller in addition tothe first processor 103.

The second processor 104 may output a mode switching signal to the firstprocessor 103 in response to occurrence of a predetermined event. Inthis regard, details will be described later. Meanwhile, the foregoingdescriptions about the first processor 103 are also equally applicableto the second processor 104. However, the second processor 104 may beconfigured to be lighter than the first processor 103 with respect tothe size or performance, and configured to receive or consume lowerpower than the first processor 103 with respect to supplied power.

FIG. 3 illustrates a control method of an electronic apparatus 100according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the first processor 103 ofthe electronic apparatus 100 has a first mode to receive first powerfrom the power supply 102, and a second mode not to receive power fromthe power supply 102 or to receive second power lower than the firstpower. In other words, the second mode includes a state that no power issupplied to the first processor 103.

In the first mode, the first processor 103 may be connected to theserver 200 and transmit/receive information. In other words, the firstprocessor 103 may control the communication circuitry 101 to transmitand receive information to and from the server 200. Meanwhile, in thesecond mode, the first processor 103 receives no power or power lowerthan the first power from the power supply 102. Therefore, powerconsumption in the second mode is more reduced than that of when thefirst processor 103 is in the first mode. However, because the powerlower than the first mode is supplied in the second mode, processesperformed in the second mode by the first processor 103 may be morerestricted than those of when the first processor 103 is in the firstmode.

The first processor 103 may be switched over from the first mode to thesecond mode, or from the second mode over to the first mode. Forexample, the modes for the first processor 103 may be switched in such amanner that the power supplied from the power supply 102 to the firstprocessor 103 is changed under control of the second processor 104.Alternatively, the modes for the first processor 103 may be switched insuch a manner that the first processor 103 directly sends a requestsignal for switching its own mode to the power supply 102 and the powersupply 102 changes power supplied to the first processor 103 in responseto the request signal. However, there are no limits to the method ofswitching the modes for the first processor 103.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the electronic apparatus100 in the second mode may repetitively switch from the second mode overto the first mode within a range of a predetermined time interval andtransmit network-connectivity keeping information to the server 200.Below, details will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

First, under a condition that the first processor 103 is in the secondmode (S301), the second processor 104 outputs a mode switching signal(S302). The mode switching signal may be output in response tooccurrence of a predetermined event. As an example of the event thattriggers the output of the mode switching signal, there are time-out ofa timer, reception of a communication signal, reception of a user input,reception of a control signal, etc. However, the kinds of events are notlimited to these examples.

The mode switching signal is output to the first processor 103 and/orthe power supply 102, so that the first processor 103 can be switchedover to the first mode. In other words, the first processor 103 enterthe first mode based on the mode switching signal (S303). The firstprocessor 104 switched over to the first mode transmits the connectivitykeeping information to the server 200 through the communicationcircuitry 101 (S304). After finishing the control of transmitting theconnectivity keeping information to the server 200, the first processor103 is switched over back to the second mode.

Here, the connectivity keeping information refers to information forkeeping network connectivity between the electronic apparatus 100 andthe server 200, and may include any information without being limited toits form or content as long as it can keep a connectivity state betweenthe electronic apparatus 100 and the server 200.

For example, when the electronic apparatus 100 and the server 200 areconfigured to communicate with each other based on open connectivityfoundation (OCF) specifications, the connectivity keeping informationmay include information based on a keepalive mechanism of the OCFspecifications. This will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

The electronic apparatus 100 and the server 200, which communicate witheach other according to the OCF specifications, may keep theconnectivity in between based on the keepalive mechanism. Specifically,the electronic apparatus 100 may use a ping command on a constrainedapplication protocol (CoAP) to make a request for keeping connectivitywith the sever 200 for a predetermined period of time, and the server200 may approve the corresponding request. In other words, theelectronic apparatus 100 may for example transmit a message 401 of“POST/oic/ping {interval: 2}” to the server 200, thereby requestingconnectivity to be kept for 2 minutes. In the message 401, “{interval:2}” refers to information indicating time for which connectivitykeepment is desired, which means that the connectivity with the server200 is requested to be kept for ‘2 minutes’. Here, two minutes aremerely an example, and may be freely changeable into another value. Theserver 200 that received the request may for example transmit a message402 of “2.03 valid” as shown in FIG. 4, and approve of the request,thereby keeping the connectivity with the electronic apparatus 100. Inthis example, the connectivity keeping information may be a message thatuses a ping command on the CoAP. The connectivity keeping information inthis case may include a connectivity-keeping desired time as shown inFIG. 4.

Alternatively, the connectivity keeping information may be informationthat allows the router 110 positioned between the communicationcircuitry 101 and the server 200 to keep address information about theelectronic apparatus 100. This will be described with reference to FIG.5.

When the router 110 is present to be used for Internet communicationbetween the server 200 and the electronic apparatus 100, the router 110stores network address information about each electronic apparatus 100,for example, an address translation table and thus accurately transmitsthe request of the server 200 to the corresponding electronic apparatus100. Meanwhile, the router 110 periodically updates the network addresstranslation table. Because there is a limit to a total number of recordsin the address translation table stored in the router 110, an address ofan electronic apparatus 100 that has not communicated with the server200 for more than a predetermined period of time is deleted so that theaddress can be assigned to another electronic apparatus 100. Therefore,when the record of the address translation table is deletedcorresponding to the electronic apparatus 100, it results indisconnecting the electronic apparatus 100 from the server 200.

As an example of a method of preventing such a phenomenon, theelectronic apparatus 100 transmits a data packet to the server 200 viathe router 110 before the network address translation table of therouter 110 is updated, and informs that communication has even recentlybeen carried out between the electronic apparatus 100 and the server200, thereby preventing the address translation table record of therouter 110 from being updated corresponding to the correspondingelectronic apparatus 100. Specifically, the first processor 103 of theelectronic apparatus 100 may control the communication circuitry 101 totransmit the data packet to the server 200 via the router 110. Here,there are no limits to the data packet to be transmitted to the server200. The very fact that the data packet is transmitted is importantrather than the content of the data packet, and therefore the firstprocessor 103 may for example control null packets 501 and 502 to betransmitted as shown in FIG. 5. However, there are no limits to thekinds of packets to be transmitted. In the foregoing example, theconnectivity keeping information may be used as the data packet.

Thus, the server 200 and the electronic apparatus 100 are prevented frombeing disconnected as the address information is deleted from therouter.

As another example of the connectivity keeping information, theconnectivity keeping information may include information that requestsinformation about a client apparatus connected to the server to be keptin the server for a desired time.

Thus, the server can effectively manage the information about the clientapparatus.

Referring back to FIG. 3, the operations of FIG. 3 are repetitivelyperformed within a range of a predetermined time interval. In otherwords, the electronic apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of thedisclosure is basically in the second mode to consume lower power thanthe first mode, is repetitively switched over from the second mode tothe first mode within a range of a predetermined time interval tothereby transmit the connectivity keeping information to the server 200,and then returns to the second mode.

Here, the predetermined time interval is a previously specified value.The time interval may be previously specified according to thecharacteristics of the electronic apparatus 100 or the network to whichthe electronic apparatus 100 belongs, or may be previously set by auser. For example, the predetermined time interval may be based on anupdate time for the address information of the router 110. When theupdate time for the address information of the router 110 is for examplechanged by a firmware update or the like of the router 110, theelectronic apparatus 100 may detect this change and adaptively adjustthe predetermined time interval. Alternatively, when the connectivitykeeping information is a message 401 of FIG. 4, the predetermined timeinterval may be a value corresponding to an interval in the message 401of FIG. 4. In this case, the value may be previously set by a user.

Thus, the electronic apparatus can not only keep a connectivity state ofcommunication with the server but also reduce power consumption.

Below, the operations of the electronic apparatus 100 according to anembodiment of the disclosure will be described in detail with referenceto FIGS. 6 to 9.

FIG. 6 illustrates the second mode of the first processor 103 accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure. In the second mode, the firstprocessor 103 receives power lower than the first power from the powersupply 102. For example, the power supply 102 may supply the secondpower lower than the first power to the first processor 103, whilesupplying the first power, which is the same as the power supplied tothe first processor 103 in the first mode, to other elements, i.e. thecommunication circuitry 101 and the second processor 104. Alternatively,the power supply 102 may not supply any power to the first processor103. Therefore, the power consumed in the electronic apparatus 100 whenthe first processor 103 is in the second mode is less than that of whenthe first processor 103 is in the first mode.

Meanwhile, the foregoing example shows that the first power, which isthe same as the power supplied to the first processor 103 in the firstmode, is supplied to the second processor 104, but this is merely anexample. Alternatively, the power supplied to the second processor 104may be lower than the first power. Because the kinds of processesperformed by the second processor 104 may be more restricted than thoseof the first processor 103 in the first mode and may also be morerestricted than those of the first processor 103 in the second mode, itmay be general that the power supplied to the second processor 104 islower than the first power.

When the first processor 103 is in the second mode as shown in FIG. 6,the second processor 104 repetitively outputs a mode switching signalwithin a range of a predetermined time interval. For example, the secondprocessor 104 may periodically and repetitively output the modeswitching signal every predetermined time interval t, so that the firstprocessor 103 can be switched over to the first mode every predeterminedtime interval t and transmit the connectivity keeping information to theserver 200 as shown in FIG. 7.

However, the disclosure is not limited to the foregoing embodiment inwhich the second processor 104 periodically outputs the mode switchingsignal at equal time intervals. The time intervals at which the secondprocessor 104 outputs the mode switching signal do not need to beregular as long as they are each shorter than the predetermined timeinterval t. For example, the second processor 104 may output the modeswitching signal at time intervals of t1, t2 and t3 which are eachshorter than t. In this case, the first processor 103 is switched overto the first mode at time intervals of t1, t2 and t3 as shown in FIG. 8in response to the mode switching signal, and transmits the connectivitykeeping information to the server 200.

The first processor 103 is switched over to the first mode based on themode switching signal output from the second processor 104. The secondprocessor 104 outputs the mode switching signal to the power supply 102,so that the power supply 102 can supply the first power to the firstprocessor 103 in response to the mode switching signal, thereby allowingthe first processor 103 to enter the first mode. Alternatively, thesecond processor 104 may directly output the mode switching signal tothe first processor 103, so that the first processor 103 can enter thefirst mode in response to the mode switching signal. FIG. 9 shows theformer case. In other words, the second processor 104 of FIG. 9 outputsto the power supply 102, and the power supply 102 receives the modeswitching signal and supplies the first power to the first processor 103so that the first processor 103 can be switched over to the first mode.

The first processor 103 in the first mode transmits the connectivitykeeping information to the server 200 through the communicationcircuitry 101. For example, the first processor 103 may control thecommunication circuitry 101 to transmit the connectivity keepinginformation shown in FIG. 4 or 5 to the server 200.

After finishing the control for transmitting the connectivity keepinginformation to the server 200, the first processor 103 is switched overback to the second mode. The first processor 103 may be switched overfrom the first mode to the second mode by various methods. For example,the first processor 103 may send a signal to the power supply 102 sothat the power supply 102 which received the signal can supply thesecond power to the first processor 103. Alternatively, the firstprocessor 103 may send a signal to the second processor 104, so that thesecond processor 104 which received the signal can control the powersupply 102 to supply the second power to the first processor 103.

Thus, the first processor 103 intermittently enters the first mode andtransmits the connectivity keeping information to the server 200 onlywhen the second processor 104 outputs the mode switching signal, butotherwise is in the second mode where lower power than that of the firstmode is consumed or any power is not supplied, thereby keeping theInternet connectivity of the electronic apparatus with low power.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a detailed configuration of the secondprocessor 104 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the second processor 104may include a timer. In this case, the second processor 104 may outputthe mode switching signal based on a timer event. For example, in a casewhere the timer 1001 is set to generate a time-out event whenever apredetermined period of time t elapses, the second processor 104 mayoutput the mode switching signal in response to the time-out event ofthe timer 1001, so that the first processor 103 can transmit theconnectivity keeping information every predetermined period of time t.Here the timer 1001 may be embodied by hardware or software.

Thus, the electronic apparatus may be embodied to have a configurationto repetitively keep network connectivity within a range of apredetermined time interval.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the second processor 104further include a power controller 1002 to control the power supply 102through the power controller 1002. In other words, the power controller1002 may control the power supply 102 to supply the first power to thefirst processor 103 in response to the mode switching signal output fromthe second processor 104. Alternatively, the power controller 1002 maybe provided separately from the second processor 104. The powercontroller 1002 may be embodied by software.

Meanwhile, the foregoing embodiment describes that only the firstprocessor 103 among the elements of the electronic apparatus 100operates in the first mode or the second mode with different suppliedpower, but the disclosure is not limited to this embodiment. Theelectronic apparatus 100 of the disclosure may operate makingdifferences between other elements in supply of power and/or level ofpower according to the modes of the first processor 103. In other words,the electronic apparatus 100 of the disclosure may be changed in thewhole operation mode or the power mode, based on the modes for the firstprocessor 103. The operation mode may for example include an ultra powersaving mode, a power saving mode, and a normal mode.

For example, the electronic apparatus 100 according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure may operate in a mode (hereinafter, referred to as the‘ultra power saving mode’) where the first processor 103 is suppliedwith no power (i.e. the first processor is in the second mode) and thesecond processor 104 is supplied with power to repetitively output themode switching signal within a range of a preset time interval. When thesecond processor 104 includes the timer 1001 as shown in FIG. 10, thesecond processor 104 in the ultra power saving mode may output the modeswitching signal in response to a time-out event of the timer 1001.Further, in the ultra power saving mode, power is supplied even to thecommunication circuitry 101, thereby detecting whether or not thecommunication signal is received. Details will be described later.

For another example, the electronic apparatus 100 according to anembodiment of the disclosure may operate in a mode (hereinafter,referred to as the “power saving mode”) where communication with theserver 200 is possible but power is not supplied to all the elements ofthe electronic apparatus 100 as the first processor 103 is supplied withpower to operate in the first mode and the second processor 104 and thecommunication circuitry 101 are supplied with power. In the power savingmode, detailed operations of the electronic apparatus 100 will bedescribed later.

For still another example, the electronic apparatus 100 according to anembodiment of the disclosure may operate in a mode (hereinafter,referred to as the ‘normal mode’) where not only the first processor 103is supplied with power to operate in the first mode but also all theelements of the electronic apparatus 100 are supplied with power. In thenormal mode, all the functions of the electronic apparatus 100 areexecutable.

Below, exemplary operations of the electronic apparatus 100 based on themodes will be described in detail with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the electronic apparatus100 may operate in the ultra power saving mode base mode set as a basemode. However, the base mode is not limited to the ultra power savingmode, and the electronic apparatus 100 may operate in another mode setas the base mode.

In the ultra power saving mode, the electronic apparatus 100 accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure may operate not to supply power thefirst processor 103 but to supply power to the second processor 104 sothat the second processor 104 can repetitively output the mode switchingsignal within the range of the preset time interval. Further, thecommunication circuitry 101 may be supplied with power, therebydetecting a communication request from the server 200 in the ultra powersaving mode. To this end, the communication circuitry 101 of theelectronic apparatus 100 may further include a communication detector1101. This will be described with reference to FIG. 11.

The communication circuitry 101 of the electronic apparatus 100according to an embodiment of the disclosure may further include acommunication detector 1101. The communication detector 1101 may detectwhether a communication signal is received through the communicationcircuitry 101. Further, when it is detected that the communicationsignal is received, the communication detector 1101 may identify whetherthe corresponding communication signal is received from the server 200.For example, the communication detector 1101 may compare the IP addressof the communication signal and the IP address of the server 200 toidentify whether the received communication signal is received from theserver 200, and transmit information about the reception of thecommunication signal to the second processor 104 to carry out acorresponding process only when it is identified that the receivedsignal is received from the server 200.

Regardless of whether the first processor 103 is in the first mode orthe second mode, the communication detector 1101 may carry out theforegoing process. However, the first processor 103 is highly like to bein the second mode to reduce the power consumption, and therefore itwill be assumed below for convenience of description that the firstprocessor 103 is in the second mode.

Under a condition that the first processor 103 is in the second mode,when the communication detector 1101 detects the communication signalreceived through the communication circuitry, the second processor 104may output the mode switching signal in response to the event. In otherwords, the second processor 104 may output the mode switching signalbased on the communication signal received through the communicationcircuitry 101 so that the first processor 103 can enter the first mode,i.e. be switched over to the power saving mode or the normal mode. Thefirst processor 103 switched over to the first mode may perform aprocess corresponding to the received communication signal.

In the ultra power saving mode, a role the communication circuitry 101needs to play may be enough to detect the communication signal, andtherefore the communication circuitry 101 in this case may operate byreceiving power lower than the power generally needed for carrying outall the functions of the communication circuitry 101. Thus, theelectronic apparatus in the ultra power saving mode can not only keepthe connectivity with the server, but also detect and process a requestfrom the server, based on low power.

Below, operations of the electronic apparatus 100 in the power savingmode will be described in detail.

In the power saving mode, the electronic apparatus 100 according to anembodiment of the disclosure may supply power to the first processor 103to operate in the first mode, and also supply power to the secondprocessor 104 and the communication circuitry 101 to communicate withthe server 200.

Further, in the power saving mode, the electronic apparatus 100according to an embodiment of the disclosure may operate bydifferentially or stepwise receiving power based on the content of thecommunication request from the server 200. To the end, the firstprocessor 103 may for example include a communication analyzer 1102 asshown in FIG. 11. In terms of performing a process corresponding to areceived communication signal, the first processor 103 in this case mayanalyze the content of the communication signal and control theelectronic apparatus 100 to perform the process with the minimum powerneeded for the process. For example, the communication analyzer 1102 ofthe first processor 103 analyzes the content of the communication signalreceived through the communication circuitry 101, and control the powermode for the electronic apparatus 100 based on the kind of process to beperformed by the electronic apparatus 100 based on the analyzed contentof the first processor 103.

It will be described by way of example that the electronic apparatus 100is a TV. For example, the server 200 may transmit a communication signalfor inquiring about the current state of the TV, for example, whetherthe TV is turned on or off. In this case, to perform a correspondingprocess, there are no needs of supplying power to all the elements ofthe TV. On the other hand, when the server 200 transmits a communicationsignal to the TV as a request signal for turning on the TV, there is aneed of supplying power to all the elements of the TV.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of the electronic apparatus 100 operatingin the power saving mode. The electronic apparatus 100 of FIG. 12 is aTV, in which a processing unit 1200 including the first processor 103, arandom access memory (RAM) 1201, a flash memory 1202, a high definitionmultimedia interface (HDMI) 1203 is provided as a chip in the form of asystem on chip (SoC), and the other elements such as a tuner, a panel,etc. are provided as a separate configuration 1204. When the electronicapparatus 100 receives a communication signal, which inquires aboutwhether the TV is currently turned on or off, from the server 200, thefirst processor 103 switched over to the first mode based on the modeswitching signal output corresponding to the reception of thecommunication signal identifies that the communication signal receivedthrough the communication analyzer 1102 is a request for inquiring aboutwhether the TV is powered on or off, controls the electronic apparatus100 to operate in the power saving mode, and performs a processcorresponding to the request. Specifically, the first processor 103identifies whether the corresponding request is processible even whenpower is supplied to only the first processor 103 and the RAM 1201 ofthe processing unit 1200, and control the power supply 102 so that thepower is supplied to only the first processor 103 and the RAM 1201 andthe power is not supplied to the other elements of the processing unit1200 or the separate configuration 1204 other than the processing unit12000 based on identification results.

Thus, the electronic apparatus in the power saving mode not only detectsand processes a request from the server but also perform stepwisecontrol for supplying power based on the content of the request, therebyfurther enhancing power saving effects.

With reference to FIG. 13, operations of the electronic apparatus 100according to an embodiment, which differentially or stepwise receivespower based on the content of the communication request from the server200, will be described in more detail.

The communication circuitry 101 of the electronic apparatus 100operating as the base mode, i.e. the ultra power saving mode detects thecommunication signal (S1301). When the communication signal is detected,the communication circuitry 101 transmits the received communicationsignal to the second processor 104, and the second processor 104receives the communication signal from the communication circuitry 101(S1302). Alternatively, the communication circuitry 101 may transmit thecommunication signal only when the detected communication signal isidentified as a signal received from the server 200.

The second processor 104 that receives the communication signal from thecommunication circuitry 101 may output the mode switching signal so thatthe first processor 103 can be switched over to the first mode (S1303).Here the second processor 104 may directly switch the first processor103 over to the first mode, may control the power supply 102 to supplythe first power to the first processor 103 so that the first processor103 can enter the first mode, or may control the power controller 1002so that the first processor 103 can enter the first mode. Further, thesecond processor 104 may control the electronic apparatus 100 to beswitched over from the ultra power saving mode to the power saving mode.Below, detailed operations at the mode switching of the first processor103 or the mode switching of the electronic apparatus 100 will beomitted for convenience of description.

The electronic apparatus 100 switched over to the power saving mode,i.e. the first processor 103 switched over to the first mode receivesand analyzes a communication signal from the second processor 104 or thecommunication circuitry 101 (S1304). Based on analysis results, thefirst processor 103 identifies whether a request corresponding to thecommunication signal is processible in the power saving mode of theelectronic apparatus 100 (S1305). When it is identifies that the requestis not processible in the power saving mode, i.e. the request needs tobe processed in the normal mode, the first processor 103 controls theelectronic apparatus 100 enter the normal mode. As an example of thiscontrol method, the first processor 103 may transmit a normal-modeentrance request signal to the second processor 104 (S1306), and thesecond processor 104 may receive the normal-mode entrance request signaland control the power supply 102 (S1307) so that the electronicapparatus 100 can receive power corresponding to the normal mode(S1308). However, this method is merely an example, and such a normalmode entrance process is not limited to this example.

The first processor 103 of the electronic apparatus 100, which entersthe normal mode through the foregoing operations, processes the requestcorresponding to the received communication signal (S1309).

Meanwhile, when it is identified that the request corresponding to thecommunication signal is processible in the power saving mode of theelectronic apparatus 100 (S1305) the first processor 103 processes therequest corresponding to the received communication signal under thepower saving mode without being switched over to the normal mode(S1309).

The first processor 103 is switched over back to the second mode afterprocessing the request corresponding to the received communicationsignal. For example, the first processor 103 transmits information aboutthe completion of the process to the second processor 104 (S1310), andthe second processor 104 receives the information and controls thesecond power to be supplied to the first processor 103, therebyreturning the first processor 103 back to the second mode. However,there are no limits to the method of switching over to the second mode.

Further, the foregoing embodiment describes that the management,switching, etc. of the power modes are generally processed by the firstprocessor 103, but the disclosure is not limited to this embodiment. Forexample, the management of the power mode may be processed by the secondprocessor 103, or by a separate processor for controlling the powermode.

Meanwhile, the electronic apparatus 100 according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure may communicate with other electronic apparatuses thanthe server 200 in a local network. This is illustrated in FIG. 14. Interms of receiving the communication signal through the router 105 asshown in FIG. 14, the electronic apparatus 100 according to anembodiment of the disclosure may receive the communication signal fromother electronic apparatuses as well as the server 200.

For example, the electronic apparatus 100 according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure may receive a communication signal from other electronicapparatuses within the local network to which the electronic apparatus100 belongs. In this case, the first processor 103 of the electronicapparatus 100 may control the electronic apparatus 100 to operate in thenormal mode when receiving a communication signal having a previouslyspecified form from another electronic apparatus within the localnetwork.

For example, while the electronic apparatus 100 is in the ultra powersaving mode or the power saving mode, i.e. while the first processor 103of the electronic apparatus 100 is in the second mode, the electronicapparatus 100 may receive a signal, i.e. a so-called magic packet, whichwakes up the electronic apparatus 100 to the power saving mode or thenormal mode based on wake-on-LAN (WoL) or wake on wireless (WoW)technology, from other electronic apparatuses within the local network.Because the content of the magic packet, in particular, the content in apacket header is different from those of other data packets, thecommunication detector 1101 of the communication circuitry 101 canidentify whether the received communication signal is the magic packetor not. When the received communication signal is identified as themagic packet, this is a signal for waking up the electronic apparatus100 from the ultra power saving mode or the power saving mode, andtherefore the first processor 103 controls the electronic apparatus 100to enter the power saving mode or the normal mode based on the receivedcommunication signal.

The electronic apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of thedisclosure may receive a user input and perform operation correspondingto the user input while the electronic apparatus 100 is in the ultrapower saving mode or the power saving mode. This will be described withreference to FIG. 15.

The electronic apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of thedisclosure may include a user input receiving circuit 106. The userinput receiving circuit 106 may receive a user's touch input or a user'sremote input using a remote controller, and transmit the correspondinginput to the second processor 104. Further, the user input receivingcircuit 106 may be embodied by a microphone (Mic) to receive a voiceinput uttered by a user and transmit the received voice signal to thesecond processor 104. Below, for convenience of description, anembodiment that a user input is received as a remote input through theremote controller will be described, but this embodiment does notexclude a touch input, a voice input or the like other type inputs.

The second processor 104 may further output the mode switching signal inresponse to a user input received through the user input receivingcircuit 106 while the first processor 103 is in the second mode, and thefirst processor 103 may be switched over to the first mode based on themode switching signal and perform a process corresponding to the userinput.

For example, when a user inputs a command for controlling the electronicapparatus 100 through the remote controller, for example, a command of‘TV power ON’ while the electronic apparatus 100 is in the ultra powersaving mode, the user input receiving circuit 106 receives the inputcommand of ‘TV power ON’. The second processor 104 outputs the modeswitching signal in response to the input of the command, so that thefirst processor 103 can be switched over to the first mode. The firstprocessor 103 switched over to the first mode performs a process basedon a user input, i.e. the command of ‘TV power ON’.

Here, in terms of performing the process based on the received userinput, the first processor 103 may analyze the content of the receiveduser input and control the electronic apparatus 100 to operate based onthe normal mode or the power saving mode according to the kinds ofprocess to be carried out by the electronic apparatus 100 based on theanalyzed content, as described above with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13.Because the operations are performed like those shown in FIG. 12 andFIG. 13, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

Thus, the electronic apparatus may detect and process the user inputeven in the ultra power saving mode or the power saving mode. Further,the electronic apparatus controls the power to be stepwise suppliedbased on the content of the input, thereby enhancing the power savingefficiency.

In the foregoing operation modes or power modes, the supply of the powerand/or the level of the power are tabulated as shown in FIG. 17 withregard to the elements of the electronic apparatus 100. As shown in FIG.17, the electronic apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of thedisclosure may operate in three modes such as the ultra power savingmode, the power saving mode, and the normal mode. Based on the modes,the supply of the power is different according to the elements of theelectronic apparatus 100, and thus the power supplied to the electronicapparatus 100 or total power consumed in the electronic apparatus isvaried.

For example, in an ultra power saving mode 1701, power is supplied toonly the second processor 104 and the communication circuitry 101 amongthe elements of the electronic apparatus 100, and only the RAM 1201 ofthe memories, but not supplied to the other elements. Because power isnot supplied even to the first processor 103, the first processor is inthe second mode. However, there are no limits to this, power may not besupplied even to the RAM 1201 in the ultra power saving mode 1701.Further, even though the power is supplied to the communicationcircuitry 101 in the ultra power saving mode, power that is lower thanpower normally supplied to the communication circuitry 101 may besupplied so that the communication circuitry 101 can operate with thelower power. Therefore, power of 0.3 w may be totally supplied to theelectronic apparatus 100 in the ultra power saving mode.

In the power saving mode 1702 and the normal mode 1703, unlike the ultrapower saving mode 1701, power is supplied to the first processor 103 andthus the first processor can operate in the first mode. Further, unlikethe ultra power saving mode 1701, power is supplied even to the memory,i.e. the RAM 1201 and the flash memory 1202 in both the power savingmode 1702 and the normal mode 1703 (however, power may not be suppliedto the flash memory 1202 in the power saving mode 1702). When theelectronic apparatus 100 is a TV, a difference between the power savingmode 1702 and the normal mode 1703 is that power is supplied to otherelements 1204 such as the display, etc. in the normal mode 1703, but notsupplied in the power saving mode 1702. Due to the difference, when theelectronic apparatus 100 is the TV, a total power of 140 W is needed inthe normal mode 1703, but only a power of 5 W is enough in the powersaving mode 1702. However, the kind and number of modes, the supply ofpower, and the amount of supplied power, etc. are not limited to theexamples of FIG. 17.

Although the configurations and operations of the electronic apparatus100 according to various embodiments of the disclosure have beendescribed, the foregoing embodiments are not exclusive to each other.For example, the electronic apparatus 100 according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure may include the timer 1001 as shown in FIG. 16 to outputthe mode switching signal based on the timer event, and at the same timemay include the power controller 1002 to control the power supply 1102,may include the communication detector 1101 and the communicationanalyzer 1102 to detect and process a request from the server even inthe ultra power saving mode and process power to be stepwise suppliedbased on the content of the request, and may include the user inputreceiving circuit 106 to detect and process a user input even in theultra power saving mode.

1. An electronic apparatus comprising: a communication circuitry; apower supply; a first processor configured to have a first mode whichreceives first power from the power supply and connects with a serverthrough the communication circuitry to transmit and receive information,and a second mode which receives no power or second power lower than thefirst power from the power supply; and a second processor configured torepetitively output a mode switching signal within a preset range oftime interval based on the second mode of the first processor, whereinthe first processor is switched over to the first mode based on the modeswitching signal, is configured to transmit connectivity keepinginformation to the server through the communication circuitry and isswitched over to the second mode.
 2. The electronic apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the connectivity keeping information comprisesconnectivity-keeping desired time.
 3. The electronic apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the connectivity keeping information comprisesinformation that allows a router provided between the communicationcircuitry and the server to keep address information about theelectronic apparatus.
 4. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the second processor is configured to output the mode switchingsignal based on a timer event.
 5. The electronic apparatus according toclaim 1, further comprising a power controller, wherein the powercontroller controls the power supply to supply the first power to thefirst processor based on the mode switching signal received from thesecond processor.
 6. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the second processor is configured to output the mode switchingsignal corresponding to a communication signal received through thecommunication circuitry based on the second mode of the first processor,and the first processor is configured to be switched over to the firstmode based on the mode switching signal and perform a processcorresponding to the communication signal.
 7. The electronic apparatusaccording to claim 6, wherein the first processor is configured tocontrol a power mode of the electronic apparatus based on content of thecommunication signal in the first mode.
 8. The electronic apparatusaccording to claim 7, wherein the first processor is configured tocontrol the electronic apparatus to operate in a normal mode based on acommunication signal of a preset form received from another electronicapparatus within a local network.
 9. The electronic apparatus accordingto claim 1, further comprising a user input receiving circuit whereinthe second processor is configured to further output the mode switchingsignal corresponding to a user input received through the user inputreceiving circuit, based on the second mode of the first processor, andthe first processor is switched over to the first mode based on the modeswitching signal and perform a process corresponding to the user input.10. A method of controlling an electronic apparatus comprising a firstprocessor having a first mode which receives first power and transmitsand receives information to and from a server through a communicationcircuitry, and a second mode which receives no power or second powerlower than the first power, the method comprising: outputting a modeswitching signal repetitively within a preset range of time intervalbased on the second mode of the first processor; and controlling thefirst processor to be switched over to the first mode based on the modeswitching signal, to transmit connectivity keeping information to theserver through the communication circuitry, and to be switched over tothe second mode.
 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein theconnectivity keeping information comprises connectivity-keeping desiredtime.
 12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the connectivitykeeping information comprises information that allows a router providedbetween the communication circuitry and the server to keep addressinformation about the electronic apparatus.
 13. The method according toclaim 10, wherein the outputting comprises outputting the mode switchingsignal based on a timer event.
 14. The method according to claim 10,wherein the electronic apparatus further comprises a power controller,and the method further comprises controlling the power controller tosupply the first power to the first processor based on the output modeswitching signal.
 15. The method according to claim 10, furthercomprising: outputting the mode switching signal corresponding to acommunication signal received through the communication circuitry basedon the second mode of the first processor, and controlling the firstprocessor to be switched over to the first mode based on the modeswitching signal and perform a process corresponding to thecommunication signal.